Appendix C

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Wild beasts: Wild beasts, like plagues, come in many forms. Peter described them saying,  “I looked into it (the sheet) and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds of the air.” (Acts 11:6) The creatures of the earth are wild beasts. So how does God use them? The Lord clearly warmed Jeremiah how wild beasts would be used to accomplish His deadly purpose upon Israel. He said, ‘I will send four of my destroyers against them (Israel),’ declared the Lord, ‘the sword to kill and the dogs to drag away and the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy.’”

(Jeremiah 15:3) The Bible also says that God sent poisonous vipers into the camp of Israel when they complained against Him. See Numbers 21. One family of “wild beasts” that they be very influential in the future is insects. Killer bees, fleas, fire ants, swarms of locusts and other tiny creatures can cause unbelievable damage!  It is important to notice that God promised Israel that He would restrain the wild beasts if they would repent of their idolatry and love and obey Him. God said, “I will make a covenant of peace with them (Israel) and rid the land of wild beasts so that they may live in the desert and sleep in the forests in safety.” (Ezekiel 34:25)

 

 

A review of the fourth seal

 

“When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, ‘Come! ‘I looked. And there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by wild beasts of the earth.” (Revelation 6:7,8)

 

The evidence is clear and abundant all through the Bible that God has used His four judgments to deal with people and nations of the world when their cup of sin becomes full. The Bible is also clear that He uses these judgments when sin and rebellion reach a point where love and mercy have no redeeming effect. See Ezekiel 5. So, the judgments described in the fourth seal are literal and are to be taken seriously. As a matter of fact, the 25% figure mentioned in the fourth seal should be taken very seriously. If the population of earth is 7 billion today, then 25% of that number is 1.75 billion casualties! We can only begin to conceptualize the excessiveness of our sins by considering such extensive destruction. 

 

How will the four judgments come?

 

Revelation’s story explains how the four judgments of the fourth seal will be suddenly released. Without getting lost in all the prophetic parts, here’s a brief explanation.

 

Right now, God has special angels holding back the four winds of His judgments. When the 144,000 servant-prophets are prepared to proclaim the everlasting gospel, the angels will let go of the four winds. These winds symbolize the forthcoming destruction of His four judgments-sword, famine, plague and wild beasts.

 

144,000 evangelists, located around the earth, will explain the purpose of God’s judgments and they will proclaim a comprehensive message of salvation that includes the imminent return of Jesus. The everlasting covenant and the terms of salvation will be seen in their glorious beauty. Of course, the powerful proclamation of the gospel will anger the devil and those who love evil. Because of the severity of the judgments, world leaders will unite to appease God. Eventually, the devil himself will appear during the fifth trumpet claiming to be God in the flesh. To make his control of earth complete, the devil will demand that his followers destroy the God-sent evangelists and those who follow them. The net effect is that everyone on earth will be caught in a great tribulation.

 

Seven trumpets

 

Here are some important things to know. The judgments mentioned in the fourth seal will begin suddenly according to 1 Thessalonians 5:3. The four judgments of the fourth seal will come in the form of seven trumpets. In other words, sword, famine, plague and wild beasts are implemented by the seven trumpets. The reason that the four judgments are symbolized as trumpets is that God’s judgments will be used as harbingers of the arrival of His holy Son, Jesus Christ.

The seven trumpets of Revelation are designed to awaken the people of earth that Jesus is coming. The first trumpet will be a great meteoric shower of burning hail. The burning hail will ignite enormous, unquenchable fires. The second and third trumpets will be horrific asteroid impacts, and the fourth trumpet may be great bands of darkness upon our globe, caused by millions of tons of ejecta, ash and debris put into the atmosphere by volcanoes. The fifth trumpet marks the appearing of the devil claiming to be God. The sixth trumpet is a global war that the devil incites to take control of all the earth. And the seventh trumpet marks the end of God’s salvation.

 

I believe the fourth seal will open sometime in 2011 or 2012. Before the sudden destruction of the first trumpet begins, there will be an enormous global earthquake. Then, a short time later, the first trumpet will sound and showers of fiery meteors will rain down upon earth. This destruction may come from the effect of earth passing through some asteroid belt or a meteor field. This shower of burning rocks will ignite large, unmanageable fires all around the world. Thousands of square miles of rain forest and crops will be burned up. Food will become scarce overnight and global famine will immediately follow. The famine will affect every person living on earth.

 

Listen up

 

The 144,000 of Revelation 7 are servants to whom God will give special powers. See Luke 9 for an example of this. The Two Witnesses of Revelation are God’s Law and the Holy Spirit. The 144,000 servants will be the human vehicles through whom the Two Witnesses will communicate with every person. Like Mo0ses and Elijah of old, the 144,000 will perform many miracles to convince people of their message is sent from God. They will explain what God is dong and why. But, just as Pharaoh hardened his heart when Moses stood before him, many in our day will harden their hearts against God’s messengers. On the other hand, many will turn from their rebellion and be saved when they hear the gospel call from God’s Word.

 

The Holy Spirit will attempt to win every heart and signs and wonders will add credibility to the truth of God’s Word. Revelation 11:6 clearly say that the Two Witnesses (the personification of the 144,000) will perform miracles, even striking the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want! BUT, (and this is an emphatic but) don’t be fooled by miracles and false prophets. Jesus clearly said, “For false Christ’s and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect-if that were possible.” (Matthew 24:24)

 

The devil is coming

 

The Bible predicts that Satan will physically appear as a dazzling being upon the earth before the second coming of Jesus. See 2 Corinthians 11:14 and 2 Thessalonians 2:1-9. Satan is the man of lawlessness. When he appears on earth, he will make up his own laws. His laws will have no regard for human rights or human dignity. He will claim that he is God and to demonstrate his divinity, he will call fire down from heaven in full view of men. (Revelation 13:13) The appearance of Satan will not come as a surprise to those understanding Revelation, for the appearing of the devil occurs during the 5^th trumpet. See Revelation 9:1-12.

 

 

After Satan has appeared on earth for a few months, he will unite all his followers from the nations. When he has gained enough influence, he will move deftly and swiftly by motivating his followers to take the sword and gain control of earth. This war, described in Revelation 9, is the 6^th trumpet. This world war will be like the civil war that consumed America last century, except it will involve every nation.

 

Satan’s followers intend to dominate their respective nations on behalf of one they believe to be God! Millions upon millions will die as a result of this war. (Some translations of the Bible say the number of soldiers mentioned in Revelation 9:16 will be 200,000,000. Currently, the entire world has less than 8 million troops in uniform. Examine this horrible war in Revelation 9.) As a result of the carnage, wild animals will rapidly multiply. They will literally feed upon the dead.

 

Seven last plagues

 

But wait, there’s more. The seven last plagues follow the seven first plagues (seven trumpets) and the seven last plagues also include the same four judgments! These judgments are described in Revelation 16 and are reserved for those who shall receive the mark of the beast. The first judgment is a plague of sores that falls upon those receiving the mark of the beast. The second, third and fourth plagues deplete what food supplies remain.

 

Famine will be pandemic. The fifth plague marks the unmasking of Satan. God will fully expose to the world that they have been following the devil himself. The sixth plague is Satan’s final attempt to destroy the people of God. And the seventh plague is a great hailstorm of fire that attends the second coming of Jesus.

 

When Jesus appears during the seventh and final judgment, the Bible says, “Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations…” (Revelation 19:15) In other words, the nations will mourn at the appearing of Jesus, for He overthrows them by His Word and the splendor of His glory. “At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all nations of the earth will mourn…” (Matthew 24:30) A lake of blazing fire will consume Babylon and those not thrown into the lake of fire will be slain by the brightness of Christ’s coming. Birds will gorge themselves on the flesh of the slain. See 2 Thessalonians 2:8 and Revelation 19:21.

 

Summary

 

The destruction of 25% of the earth (1.75 billion people) is beyond our comprehension. And today, it seems like a horrible fairy tale. But, be assured of two things. First, God does nothing without purpose and cause. Secondly, the Bible points out that God’s judgments come in two phases. The first phase is redemptive. That is, God awakens people so that they may realize the sinfulness of their course – and indeed, many will repent and be saved. The second phase of God’s judgments is utter destruction. God will send His wrath, without mercy, upon all those who receive the mark of the beast. Understand that God is justified in these actions. These things will be examined in later chapters.

 

If you already know Jesus as your Savior, you have no reason to be afraid. The Psalmist wrote, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me…” (Psalm 23:4) If you haven’t given yourself to Jesus, surrender your life now by obeying the teachings of Jesus and living by faith in His promises. Be willing and obedient to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Covenant with God to bring your life in harmony with His wonderful truths and God will take care of you. Earth’s cup of iniquity is almost full. God is about to break His silence. The end of this old earth is here and the beginning of the New Earth lies just around the corner.  

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